What's Done in the Dark
by VeritaParlata
Summary: A night out together changes Derek's and Izzie's relationship.
1. Derek

What's Done In the Dark

Author: Verita Parlata  
Rating: Mature  
Characters/Pairings: Derek/Izzie; mentions of Derek/Meredith, George/Izzie  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from _Grey's Anatomy_. You don't want to know what I'd do if I did.  
Premise: What's done in the dark… is a secret. A forbidden language written across time with the whispers of two unlikely lovers.

Notes: This is my first _Grey's_ story. Likely to be told in three parts, the idea for this story came to me when I was trying to go to sleep. It stayed with me (keeping me awake until the wee hours of the morning) until I was forced to get up and write it. I really hate when stories do that. Anyway, despite the pairing, I'm not Meredith/MerDer bashing (though I can't stand either the character or the pairing), I'm just telling a story. (A story that not only kept me up half the night, but spawned a friggin' sequel in my dreams).

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**Part I: Derek**

Dr. Derek Shepherd smiled as he started to make his rounds. He couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled for no reason, but found that he just couldn't stop himself. It was rare lately that a smile would grace his face at all, but today was different - it felt different. _He_ felt different.

The ache in his heart was gone. Seemingly faded away like a cloud of smoke. His discontentment with life and love also edging away like the last remnants of night against the rising sun.

Derek couldn't remember a time when he felt this way. So free and alive, without feeling guilty and without feeling like part of himself was locked away.

The neurosurgeon turned a corner in the surgical wing and saw her standing at the nurse's station reading a patient's chart. Long blonde hair tied up into a sloppy ponytail sat upon her head; blue surgical scrubs contrasting with her ivory skin; a dour expression upon her beautiful face. She was a walking contradiction. Beautiful, blonde, intelligent, radiant, dark and seductive. Isobel Stevens. The reason behind his happy mood.

Despite the amount of time he's known and worked with her (not to mention dating her roommate), Derek couldn't remember a time when he saw Izzie. Not in the literal sense, he saw her all the time, but in the symbolic sense. He'd never really _looked_ at Izzie before; seeing her for the overwhelming vibrant woman she was. He'd never taken the time to talk to her and get to know her. Not until last night… when they commiserated over broken hearts.

_Joe's was packed as usual. The Friday night crowd of sports fans, college students (and doctors and interns) mingled loudly. Derek pushed further inside, hell-bent on receiving the drink he desperately needed after his horrid day, and found an empty barstool. Moving swiftly to stake his claim, he accidentally bumped into the woman sitting in the next barstool._

"_Sorry," he muttered, and was stunned to see that it was Izzie. _

_He blinked, cautiously staring at her. He'd never seen her look as stunningly breathtaking as she did right now. No make-up on her face, her blonde hair falling in soft curls down her back, her bright pink shirt highlighting the pink undertones of her flawless complexion. Even the sad look in her eyes couldn't lessen her beauty. Derek immediately found himself wanting to know what was wrong… and how he could make her feel better._

_Izzie smiled at him when he sat down next to her. He turned his head when Joe approached him, but kept watching Izzie out of the corner of his eye. She'd returned to looking down at her drink when he ordered his, only making eye contact with him again when Joe walked away (and he looked at her first). He'd only seen her look so sad once - when her fiancé Denny died; and it was then that Derek realized for all of his working with Izzie and dating Meredith, he didn't think they'd had an actual conversation._

"_Are you alright?" he asked her awkwardly. The blonde looked over to him and nodded with a smile that didn't quite seem friendly. Derek chuckled, realizing she felt awkward too. "Liar," he said softly, prompting her to look in his eyes with flash of anger in her own. "Come on, if you can't tell your roommate's ex-boyfriend, who happens to be your boss, who can you tell?" He gave her a charming grin that brightened his entire face._

_When Izzie responded with a laugh (a real genuine laugh), Derek smiled a bit brighter._

"_What?" he asked when her laughter died away. He found himself still smiling at her, wanting to know what funny thing turned her face a bright bashful red._

"_Nothing," Izzie replied with a shake of her head. She sipped her drink before continuing. Derek did the same. "I just think that may have been the first time you've ever asked me how I felt."_

_The verity in her statement touched something deep inside Derek. He prided himself on being a 'people person', wanting to know his interns (now residents) and other colleagues the way he knew his patients. The fact that he often slept in the house Izzie lived in only served to make him feel worse._

"_So," he began, brushing away his residual disappointment. "I think you should give me an answer. This being a special occasion and all." The charming smile was back, but Izzie wasn't quite a responsive this time._

"_No, offense, Dr. Shepherd," she made a point of using his title to maintain some distance. "but you and I… aren't exactly friends. I don't think we've ever had a real conversation that didn't include Meredith, and again, no offense, but I really don't want to have one right now."_

_Ouch. Derek sipped his drink, tending the wounds she inflicted on his ego. For all his talk and hopes, he wasn't the 'people person' he wanted to be. Someone he considered a friend… didn't consider him one at all._

"_We should change that," he said softly into his drink. He saw Izzie look at him out the corner of his eye, and turned to her with serious determination showing on his face._

"_Change what?" the blonde asked slowly._

"_You not considering me a friend," he answered back just as slowly._

_A slow smile, equal parts amusement and curiosity, crept across Izzie's face. She laughed a little. "Why?"_

"_Because I think we could be great friends," Derek answered honestly, letting her see the flash of hurt in his eyes._

_Izzie's resolve softened when she saw how much it meant to him. He genuinely wanted to be her friend, that much she was sure of. What she didn't know… was why._

The memory of their chance encounter last night faded away from Derek just a quickly as it came. He was still standing in the middle of the surgical floor staring at Izzie. He found himself walking towards her before he could stop himself.

He sidled up to the side of the nurse's station opposite where she was standing so that he was directly in her line of sight, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he stood there; patiently waiting until she looked up and saw him (his true intention all along). When she did, the soft smile that crossed her pink lips nearly stopped his heart.

She remembered, too.


	2. Izzie

Author's Notes: So, yeah, this will definitely be told in three parts. The third and final part should be posted pretty soon. I've had a definite, clear picture of where I wanted this to go from the start. And after writing this, I have definitely fallen in love with this pairing. It's just so unconventional, which I love, not to mention KH and PD could tear up the screen. They're so pretty. I will probably write the sequel that I dreamt (yeah, I'm that kind of writer), and it will be a full-fic.

Usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing.

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**Part II: Izzie**

She noticed him the minute he set foot on the floor. She'd been coming out of a patient's room to check the surgical board when he stopped in front it. Immediately, her heart seemed several sizes too big and she felt as If it would beat out of her chest. She stared at him, momentarily contemplating going to speak with him, but ultimately deciding against it. Instead, she walked to the nurse's station, hoping that she would look so engrossed in her work that he wouldn't notice her. When he turned around and caught sight of her, she knew his walking away wasn't likely to happen.

When he stood on the other side of the station, purposely directly in her line of sight, she knew he was playing with her.

And God help her, she liked it.

She liked the little tingle at the base of her spine, and the slight adrenaline that coursed through her. She knew she should feel guilty, after all it wasn't that long ago that Derek had broken up with Meredith (and Izzie herself had a few romantic entanglements that didn't end well), and somewhere deep inside a voice kept telling her he was _Meredith's Derek_… but she just couldn't help herself.

It all felt so… freeing, in a way. She knew she was being careless and reckless, and that behavior always seemed to get her into trouble, but it felt so right. She hadn't felt this free in ages. Things with her best friend George were so complicated and oppressive lately, thanks in great part to their disastrous affair, that she's felt buried deep beneath the earth… a corpse of her former self. Something that has lost its life and beauty… and she felt alive again.

Looking up from her patient's chart, she was met with Derek's piercing gaze and charming smile. A small tingle shot up her spine in remembrance of their encounter last night. One look to Derek and she knew he was remembering also.

_Five drinks later, Izzie was feeling more friendly toward Derek. She'd stopped calling him by his title and settled for slurring his first name in a way that amused Derek very much. The young doctor was a very affectionate drinker, often leaning over to whisper things in Derek's ear so he could hear her over the crowd, and while doing so, a delicate hand would linger on his own or brush his shoulder. Derek didn't mind. He preferred her drunken affection to her cold animosity._

"_So, anyway…" Izzie heaved a great sigh. Her chest and shoulder's rising in time with some terrible defeat. "I've lost him." She looked over to Derek with tears in her eyes. "I've lost my best friend."_

_Izzie turned to look down into her half-empty glass and Derek rubbed her back. He was an affectionate drunk, too. He could feel the tension in her body pressing against his hand. He wondered how she hadn't cracked under the weight of having an illicit affair with her married best friend when both he and his wife are her co-workers._

"_Oh, I'm sure you'll work it out," Derek assured her. "You guys have been through too much for it to end like that."_

_Izzie looked up into his face with gratitude. She smiled warmly to him, filling her whole body with a warmth she hadn't previously felt. "So will you and Mer," she told him softly._

_Derek dropped his hand and slouched. He gulped the last of his drink before shaking his head. "I don't think so," he said, not looking at her. He thought that if he did, some of her radiant hope might just transfer to him… and he just didn't want that. He was done hoping and wishing (and praying) for something that just wasn't meant to be._

"_Oh, come on," Izzie said. She leaned over and touched his hand. "You guys love each other. It'll work out. You'll see. You're like…McSoulmates." She giggled and snorted at her little drunken joke, very pleased with herself._

_Derek didn't notice. Instead, he stared at her hand on his. Her tiny fingers were like glowing embers that set his skin on fire. She… was like a raging fire and he was a mere moth. Attracted to the glow and the warmth, unaware or uncaring of the chance of being consumed. He looked up slowly into her face, and could no longer deny her beauty. He'd been trying all this time to push that initial reaction to seeing her at bay, but the alcohol in his system provided a confident liberty. _

_Izzie stopped laughing long enough to see him staring at her. Not only staring but… longing. She'd noticed him staring curiously at her all night, quizzically trying to understand her in a way he hadn't before. She, too, she had to admit, had placed him under a scrutinizing gaze a few times as well. He was a handsome man, not that she didn't know that before, but there was something in his eyes that made him… well… McDreamy. Those roguish good-looks and that boyish charm could be any woman's undoing. She already knew of his caring nature from working with him at the hospital. Derek usually went above and beyond for his patients, and any woman lucky enough to have his love could expect more of the same. She was beginning to see why Meredith and his ex-wife Addison fought as hard as they could to get him. And now, she couldn't understand Meredith's reasons for letting him go._

_Suddenly, neither were aware of the noise around them. In fact, neither could hear anything but the beatings of their own hearts and the soft breaths escaping the other's lips. This was all too surreal for them. _

_Izzie was the first to pull away. "Thanks for listening to me bitch and moan about my love life," she said with an awkwardly nervous smile. She'd dropped the hand that had been on his onto the bar top, inches away from his. "You didn't have to, but it was nice of you, so thanks." _

_Their shared camaraderie had been replaced by something cold and awkward._

"_My pleasure," Derek replied, inching his hand closer to hers. "And if I recall, I kind of quilted you into it, so there is no need to thank me."_

_Izzie gave him a toothy grin. "That's right. You did guilt me into spilling my guts and revealing the mystery that is Izzie Stevens," she flirted with him unintentionally._

_Derek looked her over carefully, leaning close to gain a better view. His fingertips brushed the side of her hand, sending electric sparks through both of them. His face was close now, closer than it had been all night. Izzie could smell the scent on his skin - soap, water and something completely male. Something completely him. Every neuron in her body was telling her (them both) to stop, to take a step back before they crossed a line. Neither of them listened._

"_No," Derek purred softly, his hot breath tickling her skin. "I think there is still some mystery there. Some deep secret locked inside Izzie Stevens." His gaze flickered up from her pink lips to her widened eyes. "Something I'd like to find out."_

_Before Izzie could say another word, Derek's mouth descended upon hers. Kissing her hard and fast and furiously. Sending every nerve in her body into a frenzied overdrive. He kissed her with such passion, such longing… a way she hadn't been kissed in a very long time. So long that she'd almost forgotten what it was like._

_She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck, fist her hands in his hair and hold him close. Derek, obviously wasn't feeling any of her detachment because his hands were around her waist, trying to pull her closer. It wasn't until she pulled way did she realize how close they were._

"_We can't do this," she said. She opened her eyes and looked around. Thankfully no one was looking at them. "We can't do this to Meredith."_

"_I know," Derek said. On some level, he knew Izzie was right. Meredith would be unhappy with her ex and her roommate kissing, but that didn't stop him from wanting to kiss Izzie again…_

_Izzie turned away from him. Feelings of remorse crept up inside, threatening to make her sick. Indeed, she felt like she would be sick and excused herself. She rushed away from Derek outside the doors of the bar. She leaned against the cold brick trying to gather herself. She'd just betrayed one of her closest friends. She should feel guilty about that (more so than she did already), but what she really wanted was to kiss Derek again. To feel some of the passion she had been denied._

"_Izzie?" Derek called when he stepped out the door. "Are you alright?"_

_Izzie looked at him, suddenly angry for wanting him. "No," she said. "We just betrayed Meredith," she reminded him. "I had no right to kiss you and you had no right to kiss me."_

_Derek could understand why she was feeling the way she was, so he let her stay angry._

"_What the hell was I thinking?" she asked herself. She looked at him with hot anger. "What the hell were you thinking? Meredith loves you! She loves you! She pined for you when you chose Addison over her. Pined for you!" She walked up to him and jabbed him in the shoulder. "For you! And you go around and kiss another woman? What is that? Is that some sick pattern you have? What?"_

"_Izzie," Derek tried to interject._

"_Is it a pattern I have?" she continued on, ignoring him. "That I always seem to go for men lately who are already with someone else." She looked up at him again. "You… you just had to be charming. You had to…" She couldn't breathe. "You had to be so damn dreamy!" She ended every word with a jab to his shoulder with her finger_

"_Okay, look," Derek said, having had enough of her self-loathing and her jabs. "Meredith and I aren't together. I know you feel that you've betrayed her, but we're not together."_

_Izzie sat on the steps leading away from the bar. "But she loves you. And you love her."_

_Derek sat next to her. "That's true. But as you pointed out about you and George, loving someone doesn't mean you're meant for each other. And it doesn't mean you're good together."_

"_Is that how you feel about Meredith?" Derek nodded. "So… that kiss was just an escape for you? A way to dull the pain." She seemed to be looking for a sensible justification for their kiss. Something other than their attraction to one another._

"_Izzie." He sighed, unsure of how to continue. "Kissing you wasn't my way of forgetting Meredith or as a way to escape my broken heart. You're a beautiful, vibrant," She looked down and Derek placed a gentle hand under her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. "You're a beautiful woman and I enjoyed talking to you. I enjoyed you opening up and letting me in."_

_She smiled at that. A small smile, one that didn't completely reach her eyes, but a smile nonetheless. "I liked it, too."_

_Derek smiled in response. "Kissing you was… wonderful. I wouldn't have stopped."_

_Izzie searched his face, looking for any indication that he was joking. He wasn't and that frightened her. Frightened her because she wanted to kiss him again._

_Picking up on her thoughts, Derek reached out his hand and caressed her cheek. He leaned in close to kiss her again but she stopped him. "Not here," she said. _

_Derek was at a loss for where to go. They couldn't go to her place and it would take too long to get to his. Besides that, they both were too drunk to drive. He looked over his shoulder and a wide smile crossed his lips. _

_He stood up and held out a hand for her. Izzie hesitated a moment, thinking of what this could do to her friendship with Meredith if she went with him. She thought also of what she could miss out on if she didn't. Smiling, she nervously put her hand in his. _

_Derek pulled her to her feet and together, they walked across the street toward the hospital._

"Iz, are you okay?" George asked, breaking her thoughts. "You're staring into space."

Izzie focused her eyes and found that Derek wasn't standing directly in front of her anymore. He'd moved from the nurse's station over to where his best friend Mark and the Chief were talking. Izzie smiled, more to herself that George.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "I had a good night."

As soon as she said the words, Derek's eyes found her. She smirked softly and he smiled.

They both remembered.


	3. Derek & Izzie

Author's Notes: Wow, I was on a roll. I didn't expect to finish this part until later today. It's a whopping 3:39am here, so you can imagine my annoyance (I have to work in the morning). This is the end of my first Grey's story, and I must say I am very pleased at the way it turned out. I'm also pleased that it didn't go longer than three parts, as it usually does when I plan little ficlets. Anyway, as I've said before, I will be writing a sequel and it will be full-fic. We'll get to see the repercussions Izzie's so worried about. Should be fun. :) I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it. I had to change the rating due to the explicit content in this part. It's not graphic, but better safe than sorry.

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**Part III: Derek & Izzie**

Derek and Izzie didn't se each other for the rest of the day. He had four surgeries (all of which went swimmingly well), while Izzie spent most of her day in the clinic. Both avoided their respective former partners as well as each other. But neither stopped thinking about last night, both often reveling in the details whenever they had a moment of peace.

After a grueling shift, Izzie made her way to the on-call room. A few hours of sleep would do her some good right about now. She was pulling a double shift tonight, and couldn't leave with her roommates. It was just as well. She couldn't face Meredith right now, and she didn't want Alex to pick up on her tension. The man was like a school-girl when it came to gossip.

She walked inside the room, finding her way to the bottom bunk in the pitch dark. Plopping down she landed on someone with a loud oomph.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed and shot off the bed. She turned on the light and the person blinked a few times, trying to adjust their eyes. Izzie did the same and a knowing smile curled the corners of her mouth when she saw Derek looking back at her.

"You know," He grinned slowly. "There are other ways of waking me up." He let the cover fall off his bare chest, knowing Izzie's gaze would follow. When it did, he laughed. "I can show you a few if you'd like."

Izzie rolled her eyes, but unconsciously flicked her tongue across her lips. "Somehow, I knew it would be you."

"Because we're so connected?" Derek playfully asked, vaguely reminding her that they'd been remembering the same things all day.

"No, because I'm just that unlucky." She tossed him a smug smile.

"Ouch. And here I thought we were becoming fine friends."

Izzie crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Derek with disdain she did not feel. "I think after last night, we both know _friendship _is not possible."

"Why not? Friends have sex."

"Yeah," Izzie responded. "Friends with benefits. You and I shouldn't be those kind of friends."

"Well, what kind of friends should we be?" he asked playfully.

"The kind who says hi, bye, and then go their separate ways. The kind of friends who should feel guilty about betraying their other friend and not make googly eyes at each other in the hallway of the hospital they work in."

Derek rose from the bed and walked toward her. Izzie chided herself for enjoying the way his scrub bottoms hung loosely on his hips. She enjoyed the sight of his chest hair, knowing how soft it felt to the touch. He stopped just in front of her, a charming smile curving his mouth. He smelled intoxicating to her, just as she did to him. He couldn't wait to unpin that hair and have it fanning out over the pillow the way it did last night.

He placed a big hand on her hip. "First," he began softly. "I don't make googly eyes." He advanced upon her, his other hand bracing against the door next to her face. His gaze locked with hers, holding her there with him. "Second, if you want to be the kind of friends who go their separate ways, perhaps you should leave."

Izzie smiled at him, a warm smile that seemed to radiate from her entire being. They both knew she had a hard time walking away.

_Izzie's hands fisted in the pillow behind her head. Her eyes fell blissfully closed and her mouth parted with a soft whimper. The beads of sweat prickling along her skin did nothing to cool her down. Her body was too… she couldn't find the proper word. Derek had rendered her speechless as well as turned her brain to mush._

_Derek hovered above Izzie. His naked body covering hers possessively. He grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head. Looking down he marveled at her. Marveled at her uncanny beauty, how her body felt so perfect, how responsive she was to the things he did to her. He marveled how his own resilience seemed heightened in respect to hers. She made him want to go further. To push deeper, bringing her closer to the release she desired. Yearning for the release of his own._

_Izzie opened her eyes to see Derek staring down at her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she half expected him to be looking through her. To be imagining Meredith underneath him instead of her, but she was pleasantly surprised to see he wasn't thinking of Meredith at all (or at least it seemed that way). He seemed very much in the moment… with her._

"_Oh, God, Izzie," he moaned, and she was certain he was with her. He pushed hard against her, aching to go deeper, and Izzie wrapped her long legs around him to allow him._

"_Let me touch you," she whispered breathlessly. Her eyes wide with joy and pleasure. "Please."_

_Derek shook his head. "No. If you do, I'm afraid I'll come undone."_

_Izzie laughed, a short soft laugh that touched something deep in his heart. "I have that kind of effect on you?"_

"_Oh, yes," Derek admitted without any hint of embarrassment. _

"_Fine," she responded, and leaned up and captured his lips with a kiss._

_Derek moaned in response and it wasn't long before either of them came undone. Izzie's orgasm coiled in the heat of her belly. Winding up tightly like a spring, tighter and tighter until Derek pushed her over the edge. Waves of pleasurable heat trickled through her, causing her to writhe in spastic movements. Derek's own release cut through him like a knife; he cried out as wave after wave crashed over him until he fell against her._

_They stayed that way for a long moment. Both allowing their bodies to come down from their respective highs, and for their breathing patterns to return to normal. When they did, Derek rolled off of her onto his side, and reached out to grab her and hold her close._

_Izzie hadn't felt a closeness like this in a very long time. She thought (foolishly) that she could share this kind of closeness with George. Finding it with Derek was shocking. Derek felt her tense in his arms and angled his head to get a better look at her. The moonlight shone brightly on her pale skin, casting its silvery glow on her long blonde hair cascading down her back, flowing around her making her look like a goddess._

"_Iz," he called her softly. She looked up into his waiting gaze. "It wasn't wrong," he told her, knowing the words would bring her little comfort, but also knowing she needed to hear them. When she lowered her eyes, he kissed her forehead gently._

_They lay together, two unlikely lovers, listening to each other's heartbeats and the quiet that surrounded them. Despite their feelings of guilt, their contentment was palpable. Izzie was the first to break the silence._

"_I haven't felt this close to anyone in a long time," she admitted to him softly. "With George it was forbidden and when it wasn't… it just wasn't the same." She raised up on her side to look into his face. His expression was unreadable. "Did I just freak you out?" she asked, worried that she'd crossed some invisible barrier._

_Derek chuckled softly. "No," he answered. "Not at all. I like that you're so open about what you feel." He brushed a hand over her face lightly. Izzie folded her arms across his stomach and leaned on them. "Meredith isn't very good at opening up."_

"_That's a big thing for you, huh?" she asked, intrigued to know more about him. "Communication. Honesty."_

"_Yes," he answered. "How can you be in a relationship if you can't share every part of yourself? Or at least a relationship you expect to last a while."_

_Izzie shrugged her shoulders. "Most people don't like sharing themselves. They think it will make them vulnerable. They close themselves off in the hopes that they won't get hurt."_

"_But that only screws them up more," Derek said. He ran a hand through her hair. Enjoying the warmth of her skin, and even the way she leaned against him. "What about you and Denny? Were you this close?"_

_Izzie sighed heavily, her breath tickling the hairs on his stomach. "We were, but that was cut short. I think I'm always searching for that kind of closeness again. I think… I know that's why I developed feelings for George. He'd always been there for me. He…" her voice trailed off sadly. Her gaze drifted away from Derek's eyes briefly before flickering back again. "We can never tell anyone about tonight, you know that right? The repercussions of this would destroy not only Meredith, but our friendships with a lot of people."_

"_Izzie," Derek hated that she'd suddenly turned sullen and serious, though he understood completely. "I…" He didn't know what to say. Didn't think there were words to truly express what she'd given him this evening, what she'd awakened. However, she was right. Their affair (though neither were attached to anyone else) had the potential to hurt a lot of people. The thought of her losing all her friends when she'd lost so much already was one he just couldn't bear. "I won't tell anybody, and I won't pursue this if that's what you want."_

"_That's what I want," Izzie replied smoothly. She was mentally kicking herself for not walking away from him when she had the chance. Kicking herself for being weak. She pushed herself off him and rose from the bed. Standing naked before him in the moonlight, Derek was certain he'd never seen a more beautiful creature. He cursed himself for not seeing it before. For not realizing what was right in front of his face all along. He had no doubt now that he and Izzie could have been something great. They could have been what he'd wished he and Meredith could have been. It was a hard pill to swallow, knowing it was too late now. Their fates had already been laid out before them. Izzie looked over her shoulder at him as she started to dress. "Are you okay?" she asked._

"_Yeah," Derek replied, finally sensing the darkness of the room. Finally realizing what this secret would cost him… what it would cost them both._

"So, what's it going to be, Isobel Stevens?" Derek asked, pressing his body further against hers. "It's in your hands to decide what kind of relationship we have."

She didn't look as taken with his charms and he'd like. Her warm smile had faded and in fact, she now looked frightened. "Derek, you said you wouldn't pursue this if that's what I wanted."

Derek nodded slowly. "I did say that." He smiled charismatically. "And I'm not. I'm letting you decide."

Izzie then silently wondered how it was possible to want to kiss someone and deck them at the same time.

She stared at Derek and all those feelings she experienced throughout the day came rushing back. The closeness, the joy, the reckless adrenaline… She hadn't felt so alive in ages. She hadn't connected with anyone that way in such a long time as well. Could she really give that up? Did she really want to?

Reaching behind her, she locked the door to the on-call room. To hell with being self-less. She deserved some happiness, too… didn't she? She couldn't help but wonder if her happiness would be worth the loss of a friendship.

Pulling him close, Izzie fused her lips to his in a hot-blooded kiss that sent them both reeling. Derek backed them up in to the room, fumbling with the drawstring of Izzie's scrub bottoms along the way. They dropped onto the bed in a fit of giggles, Derek shooting off the bed in a dash to turn off the light and plunge the room into darkness.

Izzie's breath caught when he found her again.

What's done in the dark is a secret. A forbidden language written across time with the whispers of two lovers. It's a kiss against lips, a flick of the tongue across skin, a passionate embrace. It's freeing and exhilarating and special. It's dangerous and illicit and mischievous. It thrives in the dark...never caring to see the light.


End file.
